Arms
by hot-ninja-babe
Summary: Will Beth make it? Will Beth find her home? (WARNING: Some coarse language and some zombie killing)


**So I just watched season 5 premier and it was AWESOME! I wrote most of this over the summer, so it really doesn't have any spoilers in it (except for my end note, but only a preview spoiler, so it could be nothing) but only the hope for my favorite ship on the show. Anyway I hope you enjoy and review if you would like to see my next TWD story.**

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><p>Dirt covered blonde hair, matted with dried blood casts an eerie red sheen against drops of rain as it begins to rinse away some of the grime in the long tresses of a young woman. The woman sits dazedly on the ground, her back covered in a grey bloody, tattered t-shirt, as she leans heavily against a large tree, while her heart pounds in her ears as small pale hands shake; one holding a bloody hunting knife, the other holding an empty hand gun. The four bullets that had previously been in the gun had ended the lives of four men. The knife had then ended the afterlife of two of the men, as the shaken young woman had not been able to deliver head shots to each of the men.<p>

The men had taken the young blond, and had held her in a small room, feeding her rarely and giving her water at least once a day. The men had only had the woman for a week, but they had taken out much of their anger out on her small frame. Fortunately for the blonde her captors had not raped her, but that was due to the leader of the group, who had immediately claimed her as his. The leader though was an absolute lunatic and had demand they first be married before any of the men could lay one finger on her, he of course said he had no problem sharing, but he wanted her to be his first. The leaders antics did not sit well with the other three, but they had agreed anyway. The young woman thought it was because of how insane the man was that the other three blindly followed him, but she found that the other three were equally as crazy, but in different ways. The men did not even bother to learn her name, the leader only calling her by 'sweetie pie'.

The fact that the men had refrained from learning that their captives name was Beth was their undoing. Beth had been guarded from the world by her family most of her life, but the last year had changed her into a woman that was ready to fight. The thing that drove the blonde insane was that the four men treated her like an item, while the one wanted to marry her it was simply so that he could say he owned her. After Beth lost everything when her home and family had been ripped away at the prison, the one thing she wanted was to be her own person and survive. She had wanted to be more like Daryl Dixon. Beth wanted to be strong and capable like Daryl, but she wanted to provide hope that Daryl lost sight of at times. She wanted mostly that her words to Daryl that he would be the last man standing, would be utterly false. Beth wanted more than anything to be standing with the rugged crossbow wielding man. The lovely young blonde regretted those words she spoke to Daryl about herself most of all though. Beth remembered with striking clarity as she spoke those hated words; "You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone Daryl Dixon."

On her awakening from the blow to the head she had received during her kidnapping, the words she had spoken to Daryl haunted her. Beth knew that Daryl would take it hard, just as he had the loss of Sophia. Except Beth feared this time Daryl would lose hope completely. The sunshine haired woman knew without a shadow of a doubt that the rugged redneck was alive, but what state he was in was another question. Beth held tight to the hope that others from the prison may be alive and Daryl might have run into them, but the chances were slim. The depression and despair that had once haunted Beth back at the farm returned as she was left in the small room to think of her pain in the darkness of her prison. Nevertheless, Daryl's voice was always in the back of her mind urging her to "Fight da damn bastards." Beth though in the deepest darkest moments of her captivity couldn't decide if she should let Daryl save her life or if drowning in the pain sounded better. The little evil thoughts would push through in those dark times and prick the edges of the frail blonde's heart saying: "It would be easier for Daryl now that she was gone…it was inevitable." However, every time that Beth's captors referred to her as an item, she would think of her name, that she was a person. Beth knew with all her heart that there were still good people in the world and she thought herself to be one of them and she would be damned if she didn't get out and find Daryl Dixon; one of those good people left in the world. So the thought of escape was clear in her mind, Beth would get away and she was going to find Daryl. Beth just needed a plan.

So the petite woman had been docile once she realized they would not touch her intimately. She took the beatings they gave her, although she was able to divert some of the damage of their blows as they were rather slow and predictable in their movements. Daryl had shown her how to fake injuries in a fight against someone that it was unlikely she could take on physically, which for Beth was most people.

The lessons on how to avoid the brunt of a punch or kick Beth remembered with startling clarity, not because it was interesting per say, but rather the conversation during the lesson was what the young woman committed to memory. Daryl had been showing her basic ways of falling that would allow minimal damage when Beth had startled Daryl by asking how he knew how to do it. Beth understood it was important for her, but as she looked Daryl over, he was well built and sturdy. Daryl could take on a man twice his size and be fine; because he was, it seemed to her at least, built for fighting. Beth had conveyed her contemplations without a thought, which caused her to blush as she had essentially admitted to checking out Daryl. To Beth's chagrin that was the first thing Daryl had mentioned; "You like what you seein Darlin'?" Daryl had questioning amusement in his voice, but his body was tense and his eyes guarded.

Beth had caught his change in demeanor easily; she had been with him long enough that both of them could read the others body language and spot the tells each had when they were nervous, thoughtful, or what have you. The couple had become close and Beth knew not to push it, so instead of answering Daryl, she had watched him cautiously her blue eyes shining with warmth and sincerity. The shaggy haired man caught her silent query and sighed. It had taken Daryl a minute but he finally had decided what he was going say as he bridged the gap between himself and Beth and spoke quietly in the now small space between them.

"Darlin, my story ain't pretty. You ain't getting any that heartwarmin bull shit ya use to seein." Daryl spoke his voice gravely, as Beth silently conveyed her desire to know. As she saw Daryl relent, Beth pulled him toward the tree with their bags and had promptly sat down making herself comfortable, her knife at the ready should a walker come along. Daryl had rolled his eyes at Beth's actions, but consented and sat beside her his crossbow in his lap.

The usually aloof and quiet man dug deep revealing for the first time the extent of his childhood wounds and the scars that were left in the wake of a raging father and an emotionally withdrawn mother. Daryl had revealed far more then he intended, but every time he had started to withdraw a warm comforting hand would reach out and intertwine with his, softly squeezing as if giving comfort and permission to say all he wanted. So the man had revealed the pain he felt, from the brutal beatings he took to how hard he took his mother and Merle's deaths. Beth listened intently that day and though she desired to tell Daryl how sorry she was for how he grew up, she knew that he already knew and hearing it would upset him rather than comfort him, so she stayed silent, holding firmly to his hand. That was the day before the pair found the funeral home that led Beth into the mess she had been in with the four men.

Beth had waited patiently until she saw her opportunity to escape, and in that time learned that the funeral home was a trap the leader of the men had set in order to catch women particularly. However that information just fueled Beth's resolve to kill her captors, and besides she kept hearing Daryl say "You ain't gonna be able to just get out uh there witout killin every last one uh dem sons of bitches." So Beth waited, and when one of the men let his guard down she struck. She had been slow and sloppy at first as she had not been allowed to move much. Nonetheless, adrenaline kicked in and Beth remembered why she needed to escape and she fought through it.

She had taken one man down as he beat her; he had forgotten to take his gun off that day, assuming his captive too weak to even think of attempting to take his weapon. The young woman had slipped the gun from his waist put one round through his head and another through the man watching before either man could react properly. The two men had looked unusually surprised as they collapsed to the ground. Beth had little time to dwell on the fact that she had just killed two human beings, because Daryl's voice in her head spurred her on towards her escape. The next bullet ripped through the third man's chest, killing him in a matter of minutes, while the leader of the group had surprised Beth and knocked the gun out of her hand. A scuffle ensued where Beth got hold of a knife on the belt of the man, stabbing him in the thigh, distracting him long enough to grab the gun a few feet away. Beth put a round through his throat as he came barreling toward her. Beth had to push him off of herself as he had collapsed forward, her yellow shirt now covered in fresh blood. Beth then had to take out the man she had shot earlier as he was now ambling around as a walker the leader soon following.

Beth had then scavenged the house for supplies, filling a backpack with water, some non-perishable food, clothes, and some various other weapons and supplies she had found. Beth then changed out of the clothes she had been in, since they had holes, blood and all matter of things covering them, and the blond wanted to at least feel cleaner before going out on her own. Beth had then cautiously left the cabin, the hunting knife in one hand and the empty gun in the other. Beth knew that gun would attract too much attention if actually used, and right now it was completely useless, as she couldn't bring herself to reload it, but it made her feel a little bit safer holding the weapon in her weak hand. And so the woman had taken off into the forest, her only thoughts on staying alive, so that she could find Daryl, and getting as far away from the cabin that had been her hell for the last week.

Beth had run across a herd and had quietly tried to put some distance between the walkers and herself, because she was really not in any state to be taking on one walker, let alone a herd. So the tired young woman ran until she couldn't any more. The rain though soon awakens the shaken young woman, and she stands her legs wobbling as she regains her balance. Normally stunning blue eyes turn stormy grey as she looks around and assesses her surroundings. The rain making it harder for her to judge where to go, however it would also cover her trail nicely. The ragged young woman quietly begins to move, putting the empty gun in the waist band of her tattered blue jeans, adjusting the backpack on her shoulders, as she starts advancing further into the forest her knife ready if either walker or human decides to come after her.

Beth as she's moving through the wet dank forest stops short as she notices an indention in a giant tree. The blonde approaches cautiously in case any animals scamper out, but to her astonishment in the small space in large tree trunk there was a dry crevice, with no remnant of any animal. The space Beth sees would be a bit of a tight squeeze for her, but it would have to do because the dripping wet woman was dead on her feet. So Beth quickly gathers some leaves and sticks that would provide camouflage for her alcove from any human eyes. Soon Beth squeezes herself into the tiny niche in the tree, her knees in a few inches from her face, providing a view of her dirty, wet, ripped pants, with her back pack resting snuggly in her lap. Beth slowly situates herself into a position that would provide her at least some rest, she puts her knife in the sheath placing it in her boot so she could have easy access to it if someone did happen upon her. The tired young blonde is soon in a dead sleep.

Beth awakens some hours later to a sliver of sunlight, the tree niche facing the rising sun. A yawn escapes the blonde. Beth hadn't slept so long and peacefully since before she was taken, although she could never sleep while she was held captive, which was part of the reason she was as weak as she was. The blonde quietly listens for a few minutes before reaching into her bag and grabbing one of the granola bars she had and a bottle of water. Beth quickly eats and drinks before again listening, before exiting her shelter. She takes stock of her surroundings and looks for signs of life, whether animal, walker or human. However the rain had washed clean any tracks, but Beth picks up traces of running water from a river or creek and heads that direction cautiously.

Daryl had taught Beth well, even if most of what she had learned was from watching him. Beth could remember back at the farm, she would be upstairs and would see the group from a window, and Daryl would usually be separated from the group, if he was even there at all. The teenager had taken an interest in the loner immediately. She felt completely useless most of the time and didn't see a point in her life, but she would find herself entranced by the redneck, who was as far as she could see the most capable person around. He would be making arrows for his cross bow from sticks, or bringing back rabbits and squirrels for the group to eat. Beth found her mind would go blank when she watched the dirty shaggy haired man from the window, her bemoaning thoughts of how useless it was to keep living would be quieted for a time. Daryl was her escape even if he didn't realize it. Beth in all honesty did not understand herself very well back then and hadn't even acknowledged why she watched Daryl back at the farm. It was strange Jimmy had never taken her mind captive before or even fascinated her in any way, so Beth tried not to think much of why she found such peace and calm in watching the foul mouthed man.

However, Beth watched Daryl even more once they were on the road after the farm was taken. Now, there wasn't much else to do and Beth wanted to be helpful, so she watched for things she could do. So when Daryl was off to the side of the camp skinning rabbits for dinner one night she became entranced by him. The Azul eyes stuck on how Daryl started the process and each step following. The young woman grew up on a farm and was use to the gore of dead or dying animals, but there had never been a need on their farm to actually skin and prepare animals to eat, so Beth watched closely every time Daryl would come back with an animal looped on his belt. No one really noticed the blondes unusual attention to Daryl, except the man himself, who came back one morning from an early morning hunt, when only a few people were awake, one of whom was Beth, the others being Rick and Lori, who at the time had been arguing. The hunter had at first sat off at the edge of the camp taking out his kills, but before even taking out his knife his eyes met Beth's and immediately the blonde averts her eyes to the sleeping figures.

A gruff voice directly beside her caused her to jerk her head around; surprised she hadn't heard him approach. Beth had been both surprised and excited when the gruff man asked her to skin the animals, saying she had sat around watching him do it for too damn long. Beth of course had silently consented because she found herself intimidated by the hunter, but she had joined him none the less at the side of camp. The dark haired man had simply handed her a rabbit and a knife, telling her to get to it, and then promptly went about picking the dirt from his nails. Beth had been slightly aggravated, since there were three other rabbits and four squirrels to be skinned, but had only rolled her sapphire eyes and slowly went about skinning the animal. Her first time around had not been that bad. She had started everything fine, but when it came to knowing how hard to cut in and where Beth had trouble. Daryl stayed silent through the entire first rabbit, only speaking when she was done. The ruff short laugh that escaped the aloof man had surprised Beth, and she was even more surprised as he said "Ya damn near mangled it….Ain't too bad for yer first time though." Beth had been beside herself, but had valiantly attempted to hide it, which she thought was probably unsuccessful since she saw Daryl roll his eyes.

The hunter though handed her the next rabbit and instructed her on what she had done wrong the first time around. Then after he was satisfied she could do it, grabbed the meat she had already skinned and left her to skin the remainder of his catch without out a word. Beth of course had been overjoyed that she could actually do something for the good of the group, and had happily gone about her business. After that incident occasionally Daryl would hand off half his catch to her to skin.

Nevertheless, that was not the last time Beth would watch Daryl and learn a new skill. Of course, Beth learned to use many different weapons once their group reached the prison, but she also learned how to handle a child from the stoic Dixon. The rough man had a way with Judith that no one else had. While Judith was an extremely calm baby compared to some she had her tantrums, but she would calm for Daryl almost immediately, and while Beth had a special touch it could not top Daryl's. So the young fair haired woman had watched closely when Daryl was around Judith attempting to find what it was that calmed the child so much. Now, Beth would always have the biggest smile on her face after watching Judith interact with Daryl, it was just so darn adorable. Every woman in the prison would try and catch even a small glimpse of the hunter with the little girl, but Beth was usually present for a majority of their interactions and would enjoy every minute of it. In time, Beth got even better with Judith, which she knew was partially due to the child becoming use to her, but she always thought that her analysis of Daryl's way of handling the baby helped. All the survival skills Beth possessed were at least in part due to Daryl Dixon.

The pale blonde takes in her surroundings pulling herself up against a tree her knife at the ready as she hears the growl of a walker. Bright blue eyes take in the sight of the lone female walker a few inches shorter the Beth, before making a decision. Beth waits for the walker to pass by her, picking up a good sized rock, and tackles the walker to the ground. With only a little bit of struggle Beth successfully takes the arms off the walker and soon is placing the rock near the walkers mouth and putting pressure until the walkers jaw and teeth are gone. Then Beth quickly slips her back pack off and retrieves rope she had stashed and raps it around the walker's torso, before finally getting up and bringing the walker with her. The walker would provide her with some cover from walkers, so now all she needed to worry about was other people.

Beth quickly returns to her search for water, which she is soon rewarded with finding a small creek, where she fills the two empty water bottles she has. Then Beth looks at her surroundings, not knowing which way to go, causing the walker she tied to a tree to become restless. Soon, Beth simply picks a direction and starts on her way. After a few hours Beth comes across train tracks and a sign that reads "Terminus: Those who arrive survive." Thinking through her options, the young woman knows that the Terminus place is her best option; first if anyone from her group survived they would go to Terminus and secondly she needed people, she wouldn't survive long without good people by her side. It was in Beth's mind at least worth a look.

So Beth follows the tracks for a few more hours before stopping and going a little ways into the woods to rest and boil the water she had retrieved and to eat a little. Soon Beth has a fire going, with one hand holding a small pot she had taken from the cabin with the water in it over the fire the other holding a half wrapped snickers bar that she had also gotten from the cabin. Soon, the water is cooled and in a canteen Beth had saved for the clean water, and the blonde is back on the train tracks heading for Terminus.

Beth finds small town as the sun begins to set, and while the blonde doesn't want to go into the town on her own, she knows she has a better chance in a building rather than out in the woods. So the blonde woman cautiously enters the edge of the small town sticking close to her walker as she scopes out the first house she comes to, which will be the easiest to escape from if something bad happened. The small building has a back door, a front door and a side door, but Beth would have to chance the walkers and people if she entered the house. However, Beth decides to chance it, keeping her head down at her walkers shoulder as she slowly approaches the house. With a quick twist of the door knob and a nudge of her boot the door creaks open, the only sound is a low groan indicating a walker. Beth shuffles into the house behind her walker keeping an eye behind her as she softly clicks the door shut, clicking the lock as she does.

Soon the walker she heard appears in the hall way of the house, not noticing her as her walker begins to amble forward. Beth checks in the living room as her walker moves forward not seeing anything, doing the same with the dining room. Swiftly as the duo passes the stray walker Beth stabs it in the head and it drops to the ground with a dull thud. The noise though earns a groan from somewhere else in the house and Beth pulls her walker back to wait for the arrival of the next. The wait is not long, when two small walkers no more than three feet tall appear from down the hall, causing a lightning bolt of sadness to strike Beth's guarded heart. Moisture builds in Beth's eyes as she quickly takes care of the two children walkers. The blonde woman quickly clears the remainder of the house, finding anything that could be helpful and putting it in a duffle bag that she finds. Then Beth picks the safest room she can and barricades the doors, tying her walker up to a dresser. The young woman makes herself comfortable on a mattress she had placed in the corner of the room; she places her sheathed knife next to her on the floor, and finally loads her gun and places that alongside her knife.

Locks of flaxen hair splay out against a pillow as sky eyes stare at the pale pop corned ceiling. Beth allows herself to cry for the first time since the day she had been captured. The hot salty drops flow swiftly down a dirty face, creating clear trails, a groan escaping the walker on the far side of the room when a sob escapes the petite woman.

The pain and anger that well inside of Beth is only slightly relieved as the tears are released. However, to distract herself, Beth delves into good memories. The reason she had kept going, the reason she was even alive right now: Daryl Dixon. Beth fondly remembers the time they spent together. The night at the moon shine cabin, when those hated words had escaped her mouth, but also words she hoped rang at least slightly true. She did hope that Daryl missed her, because she sure missed him. Beth missed how even though he was gruff on the outside, on the inside Daryl Dixon was the sweetest man. He cared about people and not matter how rude he was acting he would protect anyone that deserved it.

Beth remembered her childish behavior after they had escaped the prison. She had just left on her own several times, and Daryl could have just let her, but he was close by every time. Then he took time to teach her to shoot and hunt with his crossbow and even the way he took care of her after she hurt her ankle. Daryl was truly a kind hearted man. The points though that stick out most to Beth are the times such as when they first came across the funeral home and Daryl had offered a "serious piggyback" so that she didn't have to walk on her ankle. But it was the moment following where they came across the tombstone that reminded both of Hershel that Daryl truly demonstrated his kind heart, the way he without a thought picked the flowers and placed them on the grave. Then he did not hesitate when Beth had intertwine her fingers with his, it had felt so right and comfortable to the young woman that she hadn't even thought much about it until this very moment.

Beth runs a hand across her face wiping away the remaining tears and takes a deep breath as she thinks back on how right and at home she had felt with Daryl. The times at the funeral home, where he had carried her into the kitchen had been so sweet and just relaxed. Beth knew she hadn't thought much into it because of how normal and every day the action had felt. However, now as Beth thought of it, Daryl did not touch many if any people very often and it was usually only in life threatening circumstances that he ever initiated the action. This thought made a little flutter go through Beth's chest as she thought more on the events since the prison was destroyed.

The more Beth thought the more she wants to know one thing. The young Greene wants to know why she had changed Daryl's mind about there being good people in the world. Beth knew he had meant that she had changed his mind, even if he didn't say it, but now she wants to know why he felt that way. Beth wants to know if he felt at home with her too. However, doubt soon assails the blondes mind as she thinks she may be thinking far too much into this, that maybe it would be easier for Daryl to let her go. Beth knows he took her kidnapping hard, she would never doubt that, but was his grief just like that over Sofia or was it more, was it worse? It felt like so much more to Beth. It was like from the very start when Daryl came around he had knocked her right off the ground. Beth knew she had never felt this way before, not with Jimmy and not with Zach; she had never let a man so close.

Beth sighs heavily, causing the walker to attempt to shuffle toward her only to get pulled back by the dresser. The beautiful young woman hadn't realized she'd been falling for so long without knowing it. Beth never thought that Daryl Dixon would be the one to hold her heart. That Daryl was the one person that she wants to see right through her and to catch her, 'cause she's already falling for him. Beth never thought Daryl would be the one that she could be anywhere in the world with and still be home as long as he was there. Beth's revelations cause a smile to appear on her face for the first time since she had been with Daryl. The happy yet cliché thoughts allow sleep to quickly take the blonde into a deep soothing rest.

Beth jerks awake to the sound of her walker pushing against the door and the sounds of voices come from inside the house. The sleepy woman is quick to spring into action, her bags around her shoulder as she moves across the room to her walker, who she unties shoving the rope into her black duffle bag. Beth hurries toward the window in the room that is facing the woods checking to make sure no one was out there, then carefully opening the window and jumping out on to the dying grass and shutting it behind her. Beth leans against the house for a second listening as she hears people attempting to enter the room she had previously resided. Sapphire eyes look around and then tired legs carry her off into the woods, where she cuts back after a few miles and heads toward the train tracks.

Once Beth gets back to the tracks she keeps to edge of the woods for a while until she is a comfortable distance from the town. Then she stops to rest her mind running a mile a minute. The sign she had seen not too long ago about Terminus had writing next to it in blood, she could only make out Bob and Sasha's names, but others names had been there too, the rain had simply washed them away. Beth sat for a few minutes her heart beating in her ears; from what the map showed she thought she was no more than a day or two away from Terminus. A day or two away from her family. Beth grasped onto that hope tight, pushing those degrading thoughts of herself and her chances of actually finding any of her people alive to the back of her mind. In all honesty the fair young lady just wanted to be in a rundown cabin a mason jar of moonshine in her hand while looking into the hard cobalt eyes of her favorite redneck hunter.

Beth remembers how unsure of herself she had been when first speaking to Daryl after they escaped the prison, but then her anger had fueled her and she had gotten them to the run down moonshine cabin. Even when she had been irritated or unsure around Daryl she still felt safe and at home with him there, especially after their moonshine adventure. The night had opened both of them to one another, showing their pain, and trusting one another with it. Beth missed the feeling of relief that the moonshine had evoked in her. The harsh liquid had made her numb to the pain without making her blind to reality; it did not hurt to acknowledge the truth.

After the events of that night the tension that had been there from the pain each harbor from the events at the prison dissipated and it was just a comfortable dynamic between the pair. Even when Daryl had started to show Beth how to shoot his crossbow it wasn't stressed or an ordeal, but they both easily worked with each other. Beth however regretted once more her words, which at the time had been meant as sassy and playful. The blonde distinctly remembers as she uttered the words "I'm getting good at this, pretty soon I won't need you at all." It felt like now that she had jinxed herself. It hadn't just been that she had gotten caught in that animal trap following her words, but rather she had really had to survive apart from Daryl, something she did not like at all. Nonetheless, Beth was thankful that she did not need Daryl to survive now, but that would not stop the woman from letting the gruff man know that he was the reason she had survived without him.

A heavy tired sigh escapes pale chapped lips as Beth tosses her bags over her shoulder pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind, so that she can focus on the task at hand. Beth makes her way back to the tracks and takes the pace up some, her steady steps quiet as Daryl had taught her. Her brown boots keeping that steady pace until after the sun has set, but the worn-out woman quickly looks for a place to make camp. Sky blue eyes land on a giant old oak tree, with just enough limbs to climb up almost twenty feet were the main trunk ends suddenly and it branches out in three different directions. Beth carefully sets up some snares that Daryl had shown her before she climbs up the tree and thankfully finds the space where the tree splits flat. Moving to sit in the small space, the blonde situates herself against the largest limb before getting a blanket and rope out of her duffle bag. Beth puts her knife in her boot and her gun in the top of her backpack that rest under her legs. Then lithe hands quickly rap the rope around the tree branch and secure her waist to the tree. Beth knew it was probably unnecessary but she had nightmares occasionally and she was not keen on falling to her death.

The young blonde leans back and stares up into the canopy of trees, the stars barely peeking through the foliage. Sky blue eyes slowly shut and Beth falls into a deep sleep, only to be awoken by the sunrise and the groans of ten walkers shuffling their way past her tree. The blonde stays quiet, as she slowly awakens completely. Beth grabs her last granola bar from her pack and eats it before untying herself from the tree and packing her stuff. After a few minutes of silence Beth quickly descends from the oak and quickly checks her snares, none of which had anything edible due to the walkers that passed through. Beth shakes off her disappointment of not catching anything and makes her way to the railroad tracks and begins her trek.

Beth reaches a small town a few hours later, and she keeps to the trees around the edge of town looking for signs of people or walkers. Sapphire eyes catch sight of a small whole in the wall veterinarian clinic and Beth knows from experience that there will be meds and some kind of weapon if it hadn't been raided already. Also a small adjoining thrift store could also be of use too her, and they were the closest to her current location and the least likely to be inhabited. The woman takes in her surrounding her knife at the ready and takes off for the back door of the clinic. Beth reaches the door without incident but has to jimmie the door open with her knife, which she knows will attract any walker inside the building. The blonde is not disappointed as a walker appears as soon as she shuts the door behind her. The woman dispatches the walker and carefully makes her way into the small store.

Once the store is cleared, after Beth takes care of one remaining walker, the young woman scavenges through the small amount of medicines in the building, many of which a normal person would not know humans could use. Beth thanks God for her father and his knowledge in that moment as she stuffs some of the medicine, salves and bandages into her pack. Then Beth makes her way into a small office, that she sees belonged to the former veterinarian by all the titles and degrees plastered on the walls. Beth raffles through the desk and soon finds what she is looking for; a small 9mm pistol with three cases of bullets.

Beth then moves the door that separates the clinic from the thrift shop. Opening the door quickly and quietly she slips into the store and shuts the door behind her, listening for any sign of a walker. After a moment she taps on the door, but receives no acknowledgment of the noise, so Beth cautiously enters the rest of the store. The blonde finds a better bag and stuffs some clothes and other items that would be useful in them, then she finds a case of knives and takes several of the better ones, but the big find is a machete that has a holster and is extraordinarily sharp.

Beth grins, her sea blue eyes alight as she straps on her new weapon, before going back to looking for other useful items. After about ten minutes of putting things in her pack, the blonde exits the store from the back and seamlessly melds back into the forest. The young woman makes her way back toward the tracks, avoiding a small herd of walkers along the way.

Beth follows the tracks for a few more hours, but stops short as she notices smoke seeping through the tops of the trees a few miles ahead. Something big was on fire and it would be attracting walkers. The blonde tightens her duffle bag, so it would not fall off and has her machete at the ready as she walks a few more yards into the trees as she quickly and quietly makes her way toward the smoke. In less than an hour Beth reaches a fence that she realizes is Terminus. Walkers are swarming around the buildings, one building is burning. Beth quickly understands that someone must have attacked the place and it couldn't have been more than two or three hours ago since they had done this.

The blonde keeps to the fence and skirts the edge watching for any survivors and for stray walkers. Soon a lone walker happens upon Beth and the woman quickly and efficiently takes the walker to the ground, take off its arms and mouth, tying her rope around it. This time thought Beth smears some of the walkers blood on herself, making sure she has no open wounds first, so as to further disguise herself. Then Beth continues to make her way around Terminus, only seeing walkers.

It takes the tense woman an hour to reach the opposite side of the facility, and when she does she sees walkers burning and limping around, but she catches sight of an arrow lying on the ground. The blonde sucks in a deep breath trying to push down her excitement as she goes to investigate. The other walkers ignore her as she and her walker amble toward the wall. Once Beth reaches the arrow that was a few meters inside the gate Beth picks it up and slowly makes her way back to safety before examining the arrow. Once safe, critical sky blue eyes stare down at the arrow, quickly realizing the arrow was a manufactured arrow, which Beth knew could belong to anyone, but it was an arrow meant for a crossbow. Hope simmered in Beth's heart as she made her way outside the gate looking for traces of others. The arrow looked as though it had fallen from its place on the crossbow, which meant someone had either been in a hurry or had been careless. Beth jumps into tracking mode looking for a trail of someone that had been caring a heavy crossbow.

Much of the trails were degraded by the herds of walkers that had come from all directions, but soon Beth finds a promising trail, where at least one person had to have taken. Walkers had been following the trail in an unusually straight path, which made Beth hope that there were survivors. The blonde smiled as she thought of the chance there was that Daryl could be one of the survivors of this.

The blonde followed the trail until sun down, she found where the trail ran into another, were there were at least ten sets of foot prints. Beth knew she shouldn't follow the trail at night especially with the chance that these people were not her people. The petite woman sighs and looks for a place to rest for the night. The blonde eventually decides on climbing a tree again and sleeping there since there was no real cover for her. So the young woman ties the walker to a tree a few yards away and climbs the thickest tree, using two knives to help her get as high as possible, before settling on a relatively thick branch and strapping herself down. The blonde lets another sigh escape her as she imagines the faces of all the people she lost at the prison. The emerald eyed woman smiles at the thought of her sister and Glen together, of Carl, Judith and Rick together as a family, and everyone else, together and happy. The cold reality that they may not be alive brought salty tears to her eyes that blur her vision of the night sky. Beth soon fell into a dreamless sleep, the tears still flowing from her closed eyes.

The sunrise awakens the blonde and she jerks up the rope the only thing keeping her from toppling out of her perch. Once she gains her bearings Beth gathers her things and shimmies down the tree, quickly moving to retrieve her walker and then picking up the trail. Beth finds the trail and is careful in following it, her thoughts of her people being dead still present in her mind. The blonde realizes she has to be cautious and not let her hopes of it being her people get the best of her.

Beth stops a few times to rest and eat and drink over the next few hours. The blonde knew that whoever she was tracking had a couple hours head start, but if there were more than one or two of them there pace wouldn't be as fast as hers, even with her walker slowing her pace some. The trail Beth was following was becoming more distinct as she followed and Beth realized that there were indeed quite a few people in the group she was following and by the looks of a few of the foot prints at least two very big men. The new information brought Beth to a halt as she realizes how bad it would be if these were not good people.

Beth makes a quick decision and dispatches her walker, smearing some walker blood on herself before continuing to track the group, choosing to maintain a quick and quiet pace. Within the next hour Beth catches fresh signs of people and determines that they are only a few miles ahead of her. Beth slows her pace, being as quiet as possible as she keeps moving forward. Soon she can hear the sound of voices up a head and she turns to the right and goes out a ways under cover to check the group out.

Before Beth can move forward again in the direction of the group a hand jerks her back hard, a blood curdling scream ripping from her lungs as a flash of her captivity flashes into her mind. The movements of the person lets Beth know it's a human as a hand comes up to cover her mouth.

"Well what do we have here? Such a pretty little girl all rolled in dirt. I bet if we cleaned you up you would be just ravishing." A deep lecherous voice slurs in her ear, kissing her cheek sloppily, causing a cold chill to creep down Beth's spine. It takes only a moment for the anger that Beth felt toward her previous captors to surface as she swears to never let that happen to her again a tear streaking down her face. The blonde pulls a knife she had hidden in the front of her jeans and stabs the arm wrapped around her chest and then as she is released slightly turns and stabs the big dark haired man twice in the chest before being jerked away by another pair of hairy arms.

This time Beth was prepared and jerks away swinging her elbow up at her attackers face. Her elbow connects with the man's nose and she hears a crack as she turns around her knife slicing across the man's throat, but she is pulled in a new direction by another man. However this man was prepared for Beth's attack and soon has her pinned to the ground his hand covering her mouth after another scream rips from her vocal cords.

"Hon, you gotta behave or none of us will be getting any pleasure out of meeting each other. Frank you alright?" The man on top of Beth says glancing up at the man with the broken nose.

"Hell if she ain't got some spirit. Broke my nose and damn near cut my jugular. Jim you saved my life, so you can have the first go at her. Poor Craig's gonna bleed out soon and turn, best to just put him out his misery." Franks speaks pulling a knife out and quickly ending the man's life. A sob escapes Beth as she struggles to get free from the large man on top of her, but to no avail. The man smiles her and touches her neck his hand moving slowly towards her chest as more tears flood her blue eyes.

"I always did like pretty blonde haired blue eyed girls." The man whispers into Beth's ear as he unbuttons her jeans, causing her to struggle even more as she closes her eyes, not wanting to look at the man on top of her.

A sudden limpness of the man on top of her causes her sky blue orbs to shoot open as she sees an arrow protruding from Jim's head. Beth struggles in getting the man off of her, but he is soon removed by the person who had shot him. A man with shaggy brown hair and familiar cobalt eyes meets Beth's eyes and he drops his crossbow to his side and pulls Beth into his arms within seconds.

"Daryl." Beth gasps as she tightens her arms around him, tears now rolling down her face in happiness as she burrows her head in his chest. The fear and anxiety disappears as she is at home in Daryl's arms. The sound of voices nearby cause Daryl to pull back and look down at Beth, his eyes shining a genuine smile on his lips and Beth smiles right back.

Some kind of courage takes over Beth and she leans up pressing her lips lightly over Daryl's for barely a second before pulling away and burrowing back into to his arms. The two pull apart as Rick, Michonne, and Tyrese appear and Beth gladly receives excited hugs from the trio, mixed with a few sobs from the small woman as she fully realizes that most of her family is safe. As the three finish fawning over the blonde she moves back beside Daryl, picking her bag up off the ground.

"Beth, Maggie is going to be so glad to see you! Everyone will be too!" Tyrese speaks a grin on his face.

"Yes they certainly will, we need to head back, it's gonna be dark soon." Rick says looking up at the sky a genuine smile on his thin lips, as they all start back toward the group. Beth stays beside Daryl, her hand intertwining with his as the others pick up the pace in front of the couple. Daryl looks down at Beth as they walk his hand squeezing hers.

"Daryl, before we get back, I just want to tell you something." Beth says slowing down slightly as she looks up into now curious eyes; he nods his head to show her he is listening, so the blonde continues. "You're the reason I survived. You taught me how to survive and you are the reason I kept going."

Daryl nods in understanding, softness in his eyes that Beth had only seen once, at the funeral home right before she had been taken. A small smile appears on her features as Daryl squeezes her hand and ignores the glances the three in front of them were sending back toward them. Beth leans against the rugged man as they walk her head resting on his shoulder.

"Beth, I missed you so much." Daryl speaks quietly as he releases her hand and wraps his arm around her shoulder, earning a bright smile from the young woman.

"I told you that you would." Beth replies wrapping her arm around his waist as the man lets a chuckle escape his chapped lips.

The couple separate as they get close enough to the group to hear voices, but still stay in close proximity, neither wanting to be too far apart. As the group enters the small clearing where the remainder of the group is, everyone turns towards them, each one that is able holding a weapon at the ready.

"Guess who we found." Rick speaks stepping aside along with Tyrese and Michonne to allow the group to see Beth for the first time since the prison was taken. Maggie is on top of Beth in an instant her arms wrapped tightly around her baby sister, while Glen is soon by their side. As everyone comes to welcome Beth back, Daryl steps off to the side, rubbing a head across the back of his neck. Everyone welcomes Beth happily, the three newcomers standing off to the side shaking their heads at how many of this group had survived and found one another. Once the group calms, they exchange a few short stories, Beth keeping hers to herself for now simply holding Judith with a smile as she listens, but her eyes continue to drift toward a silent man off to the side. Finally, the group starts walking again and after a few miles, Beth hands Judith over to Carl, who happily takes his little sister, and slows her pace to reach Daryl at the back of the group. Maggie nods in understanding as Beth falls behind, leaving her sister alone. Once Beth reaches Daryl, his eyes are already on her, Beth only barely registers Abraham falling behind them to take watch at the back.

The rugged sweaty man wraps an arm around Beth, putting his crossbow over his other shoulder and Beth follows by wrapping an arm around his waist. The two exchange whispered stories of their time apart, keeping enough space between themselves and the group in front of them as not to be heard, both still keenly aware of their surroundings, as the details of their separation are fresh in their minds. Beth tightens her hold on Daryl as she finishes her tale of her captivity, his eyes a hard cold blue as his anger rises at the thought of anyone harming Beth. The lovely blonde grins and looks up at the man, putting her full attention on him for the moment. Daryl follows her example stopping, signaling Abraham to go ahead of them as he does.

"Daryl, I feel safe with you even in the Hell we are living in. You are my home. As long as we have each other we will be fine."

"Yeah, you're my home too Beth Greene." Daryl responds leaning down and brushing his lips softly and leisurely over her pink lips. They pull apart and smile and continue on, both ready to take on whatever was next.

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><p><strong>REVIEW! I am a big Bethyl fan since the end of season 4. I know Beth is in some crazy safe camp thing (I assume from previews) but this was just my ponderings over the summer, hoping she was stronger then last season and at least more capable. Anyway tootles and we will see what this Sundays episode has to offer.<strong>


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